Photographic processes using silver halide have been most widely used in the past due to their excellent photographic properties such as sensitivity or control of gradation, etc., as compared with other photographic processes, such as an electrophotographic process or a diazo photographic process. In recent years, with respect to image formation processes for photographic materials using silver halide, many techniques capable of obtaining images with ease and rapidly have been developed by changing the conventional wet process using a developing solution into a dye process such as a process using heat, etc.
Heat-developable photographic materials are known in the field of these techniques, and heat-developable photographic materials and processes therefor have been described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,152,904, 3,301,678, 3,392,020 and 3,457,075, British Pat. Nos. 1,131,108 and 1,167,777, and Research Disclosure, No. 17029, pages 9 to 15 (June, 1978).
Many different processes for obtaining color images have been proposed. With respect to processes for forming color images by the reaction of an oxidation product of a developing agent with a coupler, it has been proposed to use a p-phenylenediamine type reducing agent and a phenolic coupler or an active methylene coupler as described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,531,286, a p-aminophenol type reducing agent as described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,761,270, a sulfonamidophenol type reducing agent as described in Belgian Pat. No. 802,519 and Research Disclosure, pages 31 and 32 (September, 1975) and the combination of a sulfonamidophenol type reducing agent and a 4-equivalent coupler as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,021,240. These processes, however, are disadvantageous in that turbid color images are formed, because a reduced silver image and a color image are simultaneously formed on the exposed area after heat development. In order to eliminate these disadvantages, there have been proposed a process which comprises removing a silver image by liquid processing or a process which comprises transferring only the dye to another layer, for example, a sheet having an image receiving layer. However, the latter process is not desirable because it is not easy to transfer only the dye as distinguishable from unreacted substances.
Another process which comprises introducing a nitrogen containing heterocyclic group into a dye, forming a silver salt and releasing a dye by heat development has been described in Research Disclosure, No. 16966, pages 54 to 58 (May, 1978). According to this process, clear images cannot be obtained, because it is difficult to control the release of dyes from nonexposed areas, and thus it is not a conventionally applicable process.
Also, processes for forming a positive color image by a silver dye bleach process utilizing heat development, with useful dyes and methods for bleaching have been described, for example, in Research Disclosure, No. 14433, pages 30 to 32 (April, 1976), ibid., No. 15227, pages 14 and 15 (December, 1976) and U.S. Pat. No. 4,235,957.
However, this process requires an additional step and an additional material for accelerating bleaching of dyes, for example, heating with a superposed sheet with an activating agent. Furthermore, it has a drawback that the resulting color images are gradually reduced and bleached by coexisting free silver during preservation for a long period of time.
Moreover, a process for forming a color image utilizing a leuco dye has been described, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,985,565 and 4,022,617. However, this process is not desirable because it is difficult to stably incorporate the leuco dye in the photographic material and coloration gradually occurs during preservation.